The Apex

The Apex is a small museum in Atlanta, GA highlighting the past history, inventions, and achievements of African-Americans.

Located on Auburn Street, this museum has a main room that has a time-line of the African people from thousands of years B.C. -up to slavery, as well as a replica of the Yates and Milton Drug Store, one of the first Black owned businesses in Atlanta.

Past the drug store replica is a hallway that highlights African-American inventions: the traffic light, improvements on the airplane, and the golf tee among many others.

Off the hallway are two rooms. One showcases African-Americans from Georgia that have accomplished great things, and the other is a movie room. The movie room is decorated as a dedication to the history of Auburn Street, "one of the richest Negro streets in the world," in the 50's.

My friend and I watched a short film about Auburn Street, after which our visit came to an end.

I enjoy going to places like this. It is difficult because it stirs up a lot of emotions- pride, frustration, anger, sadness, determination- all within minutes of each other, but it is important that I go.

I go because I know better than to wait on any textbook or television show, (which tend to exclude most things that are not of the White Anglo-Saxon tradition or tell history from that perspective) to tell me what it means to be an "African-American."

Unfortunately, certain sentiments are left on the side of the road in the name of change.

The Apex was in need of updating and was practically empty the day my friend and I went.